Kiss Me Again
by granthamfan
Summary: Cora and Robert go for an evening stroll and get caught in the rain. Rated M just to be on the safe side.
1. Chapter 1

**Kiss Me Again**

_A/N: Thank you to adama-roslinlove for this prompt. You keep me inspired to write! Thank you to SashaElizabeth for being the best beta reader I could ask for. This is actually a combination of two prompts, and is pure Cobert fluff. I hope you all enjoy! Contains Series 4 spoilers._

"It's time I headed home," Violet spoke from her seat in the drawing room. "Everyone else has gone up. I should let the two of you get to bed."

"Nonsense, Mama," Cora responded, although she was rather ready for her mother-in-law to leave. "You know you're more than welcome to stay as long as you like."

"Thank you, my dear, but I really must be going. I've been invited to Isobel's for luncheon tomorrow. No doubt I will need all of my energy to get through it." Cora couldn't help but smile at this. Isobel and Violet had a way of pushing one another's buttons. They were friends, no doubt about that, but they did have a rather unusual way of expressing it.

Cora breathed a silent sigh of relief as she and Robert watched Carson help her mother-in-law into the motor. It had been a rather tedious dinner. Edith has just recently left with Rosamund for a so-called sabbatical to the continent, and no one seemed to know why. No one, that is, except for Violet. The Dowager Countess had remained strangely silent on the subject, which wasn't at all like her. It struck Cora as odd that the normally sharp-tongued Dowager didn't offer a single opinion on the matter. Cora thought the entire situation odd, to be honest. Something was going on with Edith; she just wished she knew what it was. Robert's voice brought her out of her reverie.

"Are you ready to go in, darling? It's a bit chilly out tonight."

An idea suddenly popped into Cora's head. "Not just yet," she answered. "Let's go for a walk first."

Robert looked up at the sky, noticing the ominous looking clouds that gathered there. "I don't know, Cora. It looks as if it might rain."

"Just a short walk. Please, Robert. We've hardly had anytime to ourselves since you're return from America. Please?" Her face took on a look she knew her husband was powerless to resist. Robert narrowed his eyes, knowing he had been had.

"Oh, alright," he conceded, taking her hand and placing it in the crook of his arm. "A short walk."

The two ambled down the driveway, headed for their usual path. Cora thought of all the walks they had taken over their thirty-three years of marriage. It was one of her favorite parts of the day. They talked of everything and nothing, just the two of them. She smiled at the memories playing through her mind, secrets they had shared, stolen kisses when they thought no one was looking. She startled Robert when she suddenly halted.

"Cora, what is it?" he questioned, concern evident in his voice.

"Kiss me," she said, stepping closer to her husband.

"What?" his brow furrowed, wondering what on earth had come over her.

"Kiss me," Cora repeated, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his chest. She looked up at him, her blue eyes bright with love and mischief.

Robert couldn't help himself. He captured her lips in a fiery kiss, bringing his hands up and placing them on either side of her face. Cora ran her hands up and down his back as Robert began to run his fingers through her hair not mindful of ruining a design it had taken Baxter a half hour to arrange. The two stayed just as they were for untold minutes until Robert felt a drop of rain hit the top of his head. He reluctantly broke the kiss, looking up. "We had better get back inside, my dearest."

"Oh, lighten up, Robert," Cora chided. "It's only a drop of rain." No sooner had the phrase left her mouth than the proverbial bottom fell out. Buckets of rain seemed to pour from the sky, drenching the pair within a matter of seconds. Robert grabbed his wife's hand and tried to pull her in the direction of the house.

"Come on, Cora!" he shouted, raising his voice to be heard over the downpour. However, as he went to sprint toward the front door, he was pulled backward slightly when Cora didn't so much as budge. He turned to her, incredulous. "Cora! We need to get out of the rain. Come on!"

Cora only shook her head and uttered three little words. "Kiss me again."

Robert couldn't believe what he was hearing. She wore no coat, and her dinner dress was sleeveless. She had to be freezing. "I'll kiss you again when we're inside, dearest one. You'll catch your death if we stay out here much longer."

She wound her arms around him once again. "You worry too much," she responded. "Just one more kiss."

Against his better judgment, Robert kissed his wife. He could feel by the way her hands threaded their way into his hair just how much she wanted him. Truth be told, he wanted her, too. His lips left her mouth and made their way down her delicate jaw line, her neck and across her collarbone. She sighed audibly at his attentions, the fact that the rain was soaking them the furthest thing from her mind. She tilted her head to give her husband greater access to her neck.

"You know," she mused, "the bench is just right over there."

Robert paused and looked over his shoulder, a smirk twitching on his lips. "You wicked little minx," he growled, tightening his grip on her waist. Cora only giggled, leaning further into him. "You know," he continued, "if I can convince my beautiful wife to come inside where it's warm, we could…" here he whispered his desire in her ear. He watched as her eyes lit up, and had to run to keep up with her as she finally hurried toward the house, eager to begin the rest of their evening.


	2. Chapter 2

_ A/N: My writing doesn't typically wander into this territory, but I have to go where the story leads me. Break out the fans, everyone! Thank you, as always, to SashaElizabeth. _

Carson took in the sight of the dripping wet Earl and Countess of Grantham as they dashed out of the pouring rain and into the entrance hall.

"We're so sorry for the mess, Carson," Cora apologized, trying to stifle her giggling. "We, um, weren't expecting it to start raining." Robert cast his wife a sideways glance and winked at her as she caught his eye, causing her to blush slightly.

"Would you mind letting Bates and Baxter know that they can go ahead and retire for the evening? Her ladyship and I can ready ourselves for bed." Robert did his very best not to appear too eager to be alone with his wife.

"Certainly, my lord," Carson replied with an incline of his head. "Goodnight, my lord; my lady." The butler offered his employers a small smile before heading for the servants' staircase. As he disappeared through the doorway Cora began to sashay toward the main staircase, glancing back at her husband over her shoulder.

"Are you coming, darling?" she inquired, flashing him one of her most dazzling smiles. He quickly caught up to her and laced their fingers together before the pair of them headed upstairs toward the privacy of their bedroom. As they reached the first landing, Cora suddenly let go of Robert's hand and grabbed the lapels of his dinner jacket, pulling him close to her before wrapping her arms around his neck and fusing her lips to his. Caught completely off guard, Robert had to brace his hands against the wall for fear of crushing his delicate wife. When the need for air became too great, Cora reluctantly broke the kiss and began to thread her fingers through the hair at Robert's temples.

Robert shook his head and chuckled. "What on earth has come over you tonight, Cora?" he questioned as he ran his hands up and down her arms.

"You, my darling," she breathed as she ran her eyes appreciatively over her husband's form. Looking up into his soft blue eyes, she smiled lovingly at him before continuing. "I love the way your clothes are clinging to your body." Her hands began to roam over his chest before making their way back into his hair. "And, the way your hair is so curly when it's wet."

Robert took in the look of mischief in Cora's eyes. "You're certainly in a naughty mood tonight, Lady Grantham," he teased, his arms snaking their way around her waist.

"I don't think you realize the effect you have on me, _Lord_ Grantham," she answered. Her nimble fingers began to loosen her husband's bowtie and undid the top button of his dinner shirt. Before he could protest, Robert felt his wife's lips upon his now exposed neck, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. He closed his eyes, his entire body tingling with pleasure. Seemingly of their own accord, one of his hands wandered below Cora's waist, kneading her behind as the other one worked to undo the myriad of hooks and buttons down the back of her dress.

"Robert," she murmured, her breath hot on his ear, "if we don't hurry and get up to our room I am going to have to insist that you take me right here on the staircase."

Robert paused for a moment, his mind wandering back to the early years of their marriage when they had almost been caught in several rooms in the house. A smile twitched on his lips as he thought of how tempting the idea was now. Finally opening his eyes, he gave his wife a chaste kiss on the lips before scooping her up in his arms and whisking her up to the privacy of their bedroom. Tempting as the idea of making love on the stairs was, it wouldn't do for the Lord and Lady of the house to be found in such a compromising position-especially if it happened to be by one of their grandchildren.

After entering their bedroom and kicking the door shut behind him, Robert set his wife down on their bed and knelt before her. With great care, he unbuckled and removed her shoes before running his hands up the length of her legs. Finally finding the clasps to her garters, he released her stockings and began to roll them down her legs at an agonizingly slow pace. He tilted his head up to look into Cora's eyes, noticing that they were now several shades darker with desire. She raked her fingers through his hair as he finished removing the silken garments, placing a kiss to each of her shins as he did so. He then removed the garters completely, slinging them over his shoulder. Cora giggled lightly as she watched him, her body continuing to tense in anticipation of what was to come.

Robert stood now and took his wife's hands in his, pulling her gently to her feet before undoing the final clasps and buttons at the back of her dress. He pushed the still soaking wet garment off of her shoulders and held it as Cora stepped out of it. Tossing it to the side, he watched as she silently raised her arms above his head allowing him to remove her chemise. But as he reached for the drawstring of her drawers, she stilled his hand. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion until he saw her hand pull the string herself, loosening the offending garment and allowing them to float to the floor where she promptly kicked them to the side.

Robert stared lovingly at his wife, causing her cheeks to color slightly. "How do you do it?" he questioned, softly.

"Do what, darling?" she inquired, tilting her head a bit in confusion.

"Become more beautiful with every day that passes," he answered.

Cora blushed a deeper crimson and lowered her lashes, a radiant smile breaking across her face. "Oh, Robert," she said with a slight shake of her head. "You silly man."

"Silly I may be, but it's the truth, my love."

Cora looked up at him with tears of love and happiness glistening in her eyes. She stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad you still think me beautiful, Robert. Because I still find you as devastingly handsome as I did the first time I saw you."

"Hardly," Robert scoffed. "The young man you met that night all those year ago grew old, my dear. He must not have drank from the same fountain of youth as his darling wife."

"You haven't grown old, my darling," Cora assured him. "If anything, you've only grown more handsome; more distinguished."

"Well, if my darling Cora says it then it must be true," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"There is one little problem, however," Cora mused, her face taking on a thoughtful expression.

Robert deflated slightly. "A problem? What's the problem?"

"Well," Cora answered, "at this particular moment the problem is that you're wearing too many clothes. We're not exactly on equal ground here, darling."

Robert chuckled. "I have rather been enjoying the view."

Cora rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm glad, darling. But, I'd like to enjoy a view of my own." Removing her arms from around Robert's waist, she set to work on removing his dinner jacket, waistcoat, braces and dress shirt. She took his hands and led him to the bed, pushing lightly on his shoulders until he was seated before her. With every bit of the care he had shown to her, she removed his shoes and socks every now and then massaging the backs of his calves. When she had finished she stood and took his hands, mirroring his earlier actions by pulling him to his feet so that she could remove his pants and undergarments. Her eyes once again roamed appreciatively over her husband's body. She looked up at him with a teasing smirk.

"Hmm. That's much better," she whispered.

Robert wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up before placing her gently on top of the bed. He crawled in and hovered over her, his weight resting on his left arm as he cupped her face with his right hand. He traced his thumb over her lips before brushing a few stray locks of hair from her face. "My Cora," he said softly. "My beautiful Cora." His heart swelled with love as a brilliant smile spread across Cora's face, her cheeks turning pink at her husband's compliment. He placed a soft kiss to her lips before working his way down her body with his mouth, whispering adorations between every kiss. As his mouth made its way to her stomach, Cora was fairly certain she was about to explode with anticipation. She arched her back, aching to feel Robert's skin against her own.

"Robert," she whispered, her voice thick with lust. "Please."

It was all the encouragement Robert needed. As he settled his body between her legs, his eyes sought hers in silent askance. At her almost imperceptible nod of permission, he entered her slowly. As overcome with passion as they both were, he didn't want to rush this. Setting a pace that was both tender and deliberate, Robert endeavored to pour all of his adoration and affection for this magnificent creature into his love-making.

As the two of them lay entwined in post-coital bliss Robert pulled Cora closer to him, smiling to himself at hearing her sigh of contentment and relishing in the feeling of her head resting against his chest. Before sleep claimed him, he pressed a few soft kisses to her hair and murmured, "I love you, my dearest one."

"I love you, too, my darling," was her soft reply.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I hope you all enjoy the final chapter of this story. Thank you once again to adama-roslinlove for giving me these prompts! This chapter has not been edited, so I hope that I was able to catch all of my mistakes. My apologies for any that I missed!_

Chapter 3

Robert stirred as the first rays of sunshine made their way through the curtains of the bedroom the next morning. Opening his eyes, he smiled as he found his wife still curled up beside him with her head resting on his chest. He loved these moments in the early morning when he could stare contentedly at her, memorizing her delicate features all over again. She really was so beautiful.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Cora's forehead. His lips lingered there for a moment before he looked down at her, his brow creased with concern. He lay his cheek against hers and closed his eyes with a sigh as his suspicions were confirmed. She felt as if she had a slight fever. He had known better than to indulge her impulses the night before, but he had always been utterly useless when it came to resisting his wife. He began to remove his arm from around her shoulders, intent on dressing for the day so that he could attend to her. She was not often sick, but thirty-three years of married life had taught Robert that his beautiful, darling wife was not the best of patients.

Despite his best efforts, his movements woke Cora from her sleep. She opened her eyes briefly before closing them again with a groan. "Too bright," she muttered, shielding her eyes with her hands before she was interrupted by a fit of coughing.

"Shh, darling," Robert soothed, leaning over to brush Cora's hair out of her face. He gently touched his palm to her forehead, his face taking on a tender expression. "I think you may have a bit of a temperature. How do you feel?"

"Wretched," was her grumbled answer. "I have a headache, and my throat hurts." Remembering his words from the previous evening, Cora shot her husband a meaningful look. "And, if you even think about saying I told you so…"

Robert cleared his throat to deter the chuckle that threatened to erupt from him. He had told her so, but he knew better than you remind her of that. "I wasn't going to say that, love," he responded. "I only want to help you to feel better." Rising from his place on the bed, he walked toward Cora's armoire. "Where do you keep your nightgowns?"

"In the bottom drawer," she answered, endeavoring to sit up so that she could make herself a bit more presentable.

Robert rummaged through the bottom drawer until he found a nightgown and dressing gown. Bringing them over to the bed, he took Cora by the hand, kissing the back of it before helping her to her feet. As he picked up the night dress and held it out to her, he began to laugh. Cora's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"What's so funny?" she questioned.

"I was just thinking that in the thirty plus years we've been married, I've never actually helped you _into _one of these."

His eyes twinkled with mirth; his wife was less than impressed. Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "Incorrigible."

"Darling, I was only teasing," he said, slipping the garment over her head. After she had taken the care to straighten it out, he helped her into her dressing gown and tied securely around her waist before helping her back into bed.

"Robert, it's just a cold; I don't need to be coddled," she scolded, gently. Even if she did feel awful, and even if she did enjoy being waited upon by her husband, there was no sense in him making such a fuss.

"I know that, dearest," he responded as he fluffed the pillows behind her back and brought the covers up around her. "But, I want to make sure that you're well taken care of. Now, I'm going to ring for Baxter to bring you your breakfast before I go ring for Bates." Here he placed a light kiss to her forehead.

Cora shook her head. "I'm not hungry, Robert."

"You still need to eat something. It'll help you feel better." He reached over and pulled the bell cord. Kissing her forehead once more, he said, "I'll be back as soon as I've had breakfast, alright?"

"Alright," she sighed, settling back against her pillows.

After finishing his breakfast, Robert made his way up the stairs and back to the bedroom. As he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, he noticed that Cora's breakfast tray sat untouched on the bed beside her, and she lay back on her pillows with her eyes closed; however, he could tell by the way the thumb of her left hand played with her wedding rings that she was not asleep. Shaking his head, he made his way to her side of the bed, pulled up a chair and sat down. "Cora?" he said, softly.

"Mmm?" she murmured.

"Darling, you haven't touched your breakfast. You need to eat to keep your strength up," he pleaded, his voice filled with concern.

Opening her eyes, Cora fixed her husband with a slightly annoyed glare. "I told you. I'm not hungry."

"I know what you told me, my dear, but you need to at least try." Before she could argue with him, he reached across her and sat the tray across her lap. She folded her arms across her chest. Robert once again fought the urge to laugh. In that moment, he was reminded of their three daughters. They had made the very same face his wife was making whenever one of them had tried to feed them something that they didn't want.

He fixed a piece of toast with butter and jam, and held it out to her. She looked at it for a long moment before sighing in exasperation. "I really don't want it, Robert. I do wish you would stop insisting upon me eating."

Robert realized that he was going to have to go about this the hard way. His mouth twitching into a teasing smirk, he placed his hand on her arm and held the toast close to her mouth. "Please be a good girl and just take one bite for me. Please?"

Cora rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Robert," she scoffed. "I'm not a child." Seeing that he was not going to give up, she took the piece of toast and took a small bite. After she had managed to swallow it, wincing a bit as it made its way down her irritated esophagus, she looked at her husband with raised eyebrows. "Satisfied?" she questioned.

"It's a start," was Robert's answer. With a bit more coaxing, he managed to get her to eat a few bites of porridge, and take a few sips of tea. Knowing that his luck was likely to run out at any moment, he removed the tray from her bed and sat it on the floor outside of the bedroom. Once again closing the door behind him, he removed his shoes and jacket and slipped into bed beside his wife.

"Don't you have estate business to attend to?" Cora questioned.

"Nothing is more important to me than you," Robert replied, putting his arm around Cora's shoulder and drawing her close. "Besides, Mary and Tom can handle it."

Cora smiled as she kissed her husband on the cheek and rested her head on his shoulder. "Aren't you afraid you'll get sick, too?"

"Not in the least. Besides, it would be a small price to pay."

Laughing softly, Cora nuzzled her head into Robert's neck. "Darling, will you read to me?"

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, my love," he said, reaching over to his bedside table and retrieving the novel he had been reading for the past couple of days. Before turning to the page where he had left off, he couldn't help but place his left hand under Cora's chin and lift her face gently, placing a soft kiss to her lips. Cora's smile lit up the room, and becoming ill was the furthest thing from Robert's mind when he heard her whisper, "Kiss me again."


End file.
